Not applicable.
Not applicable.
This invention relates to belts, and in particular to multi-segment belt systems particularly suitable for use by the disabled.
There have been efforts to increase the ability of the disabled (e.g. disabled by virtue of illness, age, or other cause) to take part in the greatest possible range of normal activities, and in particular to do so with the least possible assistance. Some of these efforts have involved governmental regulation such as laws that mandate that public facilities be modified and/or designed to avoid unnecessary physical barriers.
There have also been a variety of efforts by private companies to design products that allow the disabled to be able to more easily participate in every day activities. For example, private companies have introduced scanners that can read print and then sound out the print so that even the blind can effectively read normal printed materials without assistance.
One area of development relates to the clothing that disabled persons wear. Many such persons have great difficulty in dressing and undressing, particularly with respect to putting on conventional trousers. To the extent the person needs to wear conventional looking trousers, this is particularly disruptive of independence because if a disabled person needs to visit a restroom away from their normal residence, they may not be able to re-dress absent taking an aide with them.
To try to avoid this problem many such persons wear relatively loose-fitting garments (e.g. with elastic waistbands that typically appear almost pajama like). This restricts the fashion choices of the disabled person, may call attention to their disability when they wish to simply blend in, and in any event can adversely affect morale.
There have therefore been some attempts to provide a more standardized frontal appearance for trousers that can be used by such disabled persons. See e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 2,923,009. However, this patent required the use of zippers along the sides of the trousers, adding to the cost of the product, and presenting its own problems with respect to those having significant difficulty in manipulating zippers. Perhaps even more importantly, it was a xe2x80x9csolutionxe2x80x9d which required specialized clothes for the disabled, thereby radically restricting their fashion choices.
There have also been developed (for a variety of reasons) various non-standard belts designed for use around the outside of the waist region of pants. See e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,607,156, 4,999,853, 5,500,959 and 5,566,397. See also U.S. Pat. No. 1,662,074. While some of these systems used cinching principles and/or hook/loop contact binding principles, none adequately addressed the problem of the tendency of front zippers on such pants to bind absent a specific angle of force being provided when the two leafs of the open pants are pulled towards each other.
Thus, it can be seen that a need exists for an improved belt system for use by the disabled, particularly one that facilitates the closure of the zipper.
The invention provides a belt system for use with a pair of pants having a waist region with external belt loops and a front opening defining two leafs. Such pants typically have a button on the exterior of one leaf and a slot through the other leaf for receiving the button.
The belt system of the present invention has a docking strap mountable along the waist region by being suspended on two of said belt loops, the strap having a contact binding surface on its front side. The system also has a cinching strap having a slot adjacent one end, a grip ring at an opposite end, a contact binding surface on one side suitable to mate with the contact binding surface of the docking strap, and a contact binding surface on an opposite side.
There is also a loop element having a loop suitable to allow a portion of the cinching strap to slide there through. The loop element also has a connection means suitable to link the loop element along an inside surface of a waist band of the pants. Another portion of the system is a closure member having a button on one side suitable to be displayed through the leaf slot of the pants, and a contact binding surface on an opposite side suitable to mate with the contact binding surface on said opposite side of the cinching strap.
In preferred forms the closure member also has a grip ring, and the docking strap has mating snap connectors adjacent one end to loop around one such pant belt loop, and also has contact binding surfaces adjacent an opposite end of the docking strap to adjustably loop around a second such pant belt loop. The contact binding surfaces can be in the preferred form a plurality of hook and/or a plurality of loop structures. The loop element""s connection means can be a pin extendable through the waist region of the pants and a pin trap.
In another form the invention provides a combined pair of pants and belt system. The pants have the usual legs depending from a waist region, the waist region having the usual external belt loops and a front opening defining two leafs, one leaf having a button and the other leaf having a slot for receiving the button. In this combined system such pants are combined with a belt system having the following four features.
The first is a docking strap mounted along the exterior of the waist region by being suspended on two of said belt loops, the strap having a contact binding surface on its front side. The second is a cinching strap having a slot adjacent one end, a grip ring at an opposite end, a contact binding surface on one side suitable to mate with the contact binding surface of the docking strap, and a contact binding surface on an opposite side. The third is a loop element having a loop suitable to allow a portion of the cinching strap to slide there through, the element also having a connection means linking the loop element along an inside surface of a waist band of the pants. The fourth is a closure member having a button on one side displayed through the leaf slot of the pants, and a contact binding surface on an opposite side suitable to mate with the contact binding surface on said opposite side of the cinching strap.
It has been surprisingly learned that the mounting of the loop element along the inside of the leaf of the pants opening is critical to the proper alignment of the zipper. This first requires the loop element to be mounted along the inside of the leaf, and then requires an additional structure to close the leaf.
The design of the present invention also has desirable properties and advantages such as permitting it to be used with conventional pants, allowing it to be used regardless of the size of the waist of the pants, and permitting it to be pre-assembled in most respects before the disabled person needs to leave home.
The parts of the belt system are inexpensive to produce, and easy to assemble on a pair of pants without special training. Further, the overall look of the system, once installed and closed, does not provide an immediate visual cue to the public that the person is disabled.
These and other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings.